Bariloche
is an Alpine Ski town both tourist and business oriented. It is very quaint and
situated on a large lake surround by mountains. It felt good to be out of the
city and we could not wait to pitch our tent and do some camping. Our plan was
to rent a car in Bariloche, Argentina and drop it off at the end of the week in
Santiago, Chile.
Our first stop was Avis and we inquired about renting a car.
Both Karen and I had visions of a relaxing peaceful week full of lakeside
camping and the feeling of freedom with our own vehicle. At this point in our
journey both Karen and I could not be happier with our South American
experience. We had planned on it being the toughest part of our trip and it
turned out to be relatively easy. This of course came to a grinding halt at the
Avis counter. The complications set in on car rentals. The Avis office is a
franchise and not a corporate owned Avis so they can charge what ever they
want. The cost for us to rent a car would only be $90 a day plus mileage and we
could not return the car in Chile. We kind of got the impression that Chile and
Argentina don't like each other and doing these kind of business things would
be impossible. Karen had read about a fly-and-drive program with Lan Chile
airlines so we figured that renting a car would be no big deal. The only option
we had was to rent the car for $90 a day and return it in a small town in
Argentina which is East of Santiago, Chile. Then we would have to take a bus
back to Santiago. We were not going to do this so we headed for Budget to hear
the exact same story. The Budget guy did suggest that we cross the border into
Chile and rent the car in Osorno, Chile and that would eliminate the border
crossing problem.
This meant another six hour bus ride at 7:00 AM the next day.
At this point we gave up and the need for a hot shower and the need for sleep
at 9:00 AM got the best of me. These overnight bus trips really take a lot out
of you the following day. Our last ditch effort was a stop in the tourist
office a large log cabin complex with a strolling St. Bernard for hire and a
gorgeous backdrop of the lake and snow covered mountains. They were not very
helpful and we moved on in search of a hotel.
Camping is 3 km out of town, it is getting a bit cold and the sun is setting. The car camping plan would have allowed us to buy all the food we need and provide a place for Karen and I to lock up our stuff when we went into town. We are both loaded to the hilt with stuff and it would be impossible for us to spend the afternoon in town walking around carrying our stuff. We opt for the comforts of a hotel and we begin our hotel search. Karen stayed with the bags and I walked around asking prices and looking at rooms. I find a small hotel for $40 US a night and scalding hot water in the bathroom. I was getting good at this hotel evaluation thing. There are several luxury accommodations for $100 US a night but we had set out on our trip with a $100 US a day budget and so far we had not even come close. We went with the $40 US room and the town was so cute that we stayed another night. The area offers a large number of trekking activities but we only had four days to go and we still had to see Chile. We needed another month or two in South America. Dinner that night was at a cozy restaurant specializing in grilled meats.
Dinner was
the best so far on the trip and we sat out for chocolate dessert. The town is
famous for its chocolate stores and every chocolate kitchen you walked by
almost knocked you out from the overwhelming smell of fresh chocolate. The chocolate
stores our actually large chocolate supermarkets with every kind of chocolate
you can imagine. The only exception to this was the combination of chocolate
and peanut butter; haven't they every heard of Reeses Peanut Butter cups.
I wanted to sit in the hotel room and get lost on the computer and Karen wanted to shop. This was the first place that Karen did not feel any problems about going out on her own and she set out to buy some shoes. Karen returned a few hours later with no shopping bags and was excited to drag me out for a second shopping opinion. Shopping is really a team sport and I have to work harder at being a team player. Tonight was fondue night and we set out on a fondue hunt. We ended up in a small but busy restaurant, I ordered lasagna and Karen ordered cheese fondue. The cheese fondue was expensive at around $30 US and a large bowl of melted cheese and bread arrived. I was expecting a couple of courses of things to dip like various fruits and vegetables. Then the main course would be followed up by chocolate fondue and tasty strawberries. Nope, all we got was cheese and bread for $30 US.
Up early again for a six hour bus ride to Osorno, Chile. This bus was of the average variety and Karen and I got the next to the last row in the back of the bus. I am glad we did not get the last row because it was filled with the morning meal. The bus had been oversold so they let two local ladies stand next to our row in the back. Then to make the sense of crowding even stronger the guy in front of Karen reclined his seat and the claustrophobic monster came out. I thought she was going to lose it. The road was filled with hair pin turns that kept knocking the lady next to me down and it became very annoying. I guess she gets motion sickness because she returned the orange soda she had been drinking earlier that morning into a little plastic bag at the ready. She then tied a knot in the bag and stuck it in her pocket. She really was quite good at this standing on the bus thing. The border crossing out of Argentina was routine and we all had to get off the bus and go through customs. It was nice to stretch the legs.
